Comments (12)

Well, I guess if you need the help, you will now know where to go or where you could go in the future. Funny seeing Switzerland listed with a bunch of U.S. states. I did not know Switzerland was our 51st state.

The United States is always behind the progressive countries in Europe. Back in 2010 when Congress tried to establish Death Panels with the power to decide when old folks should be put down, those backward-thinking Tea Party conservatives blocked the move.

How would allowing people to make arbitrary decisions about who will die and who will not die be a good thing? Humans are fallible, and I would trust our judgment on such a huge matter of (literally)life and death.

A more important question is the extent to which the rules have been followed in the places that supposedly require informed consent. And whether depressed 12 years olds should be assisted in taking their own lives.

Rather than mixing this into the medical system, which is supposed to cure by preserving life, the places that allow suicide should consider creating a special group of suicide assisters who operate outside of the medical system. That way people wouldn’t have to worry about motives and inappropriate pressure to free up a hospital bed or inheritance.

Finally, black hoods should be a required part of the suicide assister working uniform.

I’m with Linda and Jeff on the black hooded uniform. Assisted suicide workers should be required to identify themselves by wearing a long, black robe with a over-sized hood that obscures their facial features and carry a scythe. Just imagine the patients’ reaction when this assisted death worker roams the hospital (or nursing home) halls in search of someone who needs them.

I don’t think lawmakers are debating whether a 12 year old who is depressed ought to be assisted for suicide. Let’s not overstretch the topic here. These cases refer to people who become vegetative or no longer can live a rational life without the need for someone else to make their own decisions. It’s a deep philosophical debate, unlike assisting someone who is depressed, much less a child.